Part 5 PS 52

As the King and the elder Lord of Paluvur nodded their heads in agreement, Nambi folded his hands and said, “I request all of you to forgive me for my mistakes. Vanthiyathevan didn’t escape on a horse. When he intended to save our real Mathuranthagar, he was attacked by the killer. It was me who brought Vanthiyathevan here in the closed palanquin. He has been here for the past four days and so there is no chance of Prince Kandhamaaran to have killed Vanthiyathevan,”

The elder Lord of Paluvur nodded and said, “Hmm… I guessed so. Kandhamaaran should actually be rewarded because the one who killed must be none other than the son of Veera Pandiyan. The old Mathurantahgar went missing from the day Vanthiyathevan was brought here. So, he must be the one who had tried to escape and I am glad that he was killed,”

Before everyone could accept the reality, the elder Lord of Paluvur said again, “My Lord! I request you to listen to me with patience. I came to know about the vile plan that had been hatched against the Chola kingdom only when I overheard the conversation between the Pandiya men in the memorial of Prithvi Pathi. Soon after, I was determined to save Prince Adhitya after sending a warning to Tanjore. Luckily, I met Princess Kundavai. When I was resolved to kill all the conspirators, Princess Kundavai confused my mind. She said that Nandhini was her sister and had asked me to promise her that I won’t do any harm to her. I felt perplexed and so I decided to reach Kadambur disguising my identity to know the truth. I disguised myself as a Kalamuhar and reached Kadambur. I feel ashamed to tell this, but I have to tell this truth. Nandhini had kindled and convinced me that I should become the King of the Chola kingdom. I, who was floored by her beauty, agreed and started desiring to become the King. Kalamuhars had already accepted me as their head and had promised me to stand by my side to make me the King. Idupankaari, who is a servant in Sambuvaraiyar’s palace is actually a member of the Kalamuhar sect. So, I met him, threatened him, and came to know that the well-wishers of Pandiya King were hiding in the secret hall. I asked him to show the way to Nandhini’s chamber to prevent her from killing Adhitya. When I reached the chamber through the granary, I saw Vanthiyathevan listening to Adhitya and Nandhini’s conversation. Just the moment I appeared, I happened to hear Nandhini revealing the secret about her father to Adhitya. I learned about the conspiracy that was hatched to kill Adhitya and I tried to prevent Nandhini and the conspirators from succeeding in their plan. But, I couldn’t change fate. Adhitya died in front of my eyes…,”

Saying this, the elder Lord of Paluvur cupped his face and sobbed uncontrollably. No one dared to intervene in his sorrow. Everyone’s heart melted on seeing the old man crying.

The elder Lord of Paluvur then looked up, controlled his sobs and said, “Adhitya is dead. But, I am glad that Ponniyin Selvar escaped and the King escaped. My Lord! Prime Minister! My dear brother! All my beloved Chieftains! Please agree with my decision. Prince Arulmozhiavrmar should be crowned as the King. Only through him, this kingdom is going to reach a great height,”

Anirudhar nodded and said, “Sir! Your wish is going to turn true. All of us feared that Ponniyin Selvar would deny this, but luckily, he himself has agreed to inherit the throne. But still, you didn’t reveal how Prince Adhitya died. Until that mystery is solved, this lad, Vanthiyathevan will continue to carry the blame for killing Prince Adhitya,”

“No! No one should blame Vanthiyatehvan. Who thinks that he could have done such a thing?” asked the elder Lord of Paluvur.

“Sir! Parthibenthran and Kandhamaaran firmly believe that he killed Prince Adhitya,” said Anirudhar.

“Ah! Those two idiots don’t know anything. What reason do they tell to accuse him of killing Prince Adhitya?” asked the elder Lord of Paluvur.

Anirudhar answered again, “Sir! Vanthiyathevan was seen near Adhitya’s lifeless body. It seems like Manimeklaai is also present in the chamber. She says that it was she who killed the Prince, but that can’t be true because the sword she had carried didn’t have any bloodstains on it. So, it is sure that she took the blame on herself only to save Vanthiyathevan. She might have seen Vanthiyathevan kill Prince Adhitya,”

The elder Lord of Paluvur thought for a while and asked, “What weapon did Vanthiyathevan use to kill the Prince?” 

Parthibenthran neared the elder Lord of Paluvur and gave him a knife. “He used this knife to kill Prince Adhitya. When he carried his lifeless body and fell unconscious, this knife fell down from Vanthiyathevan’s hand,”

The elder Lord of Paluvur looked keenly at the knife and said, “Ah! This is Idupankaari’s knife. Kandhamaara! Parthibenthra! We all three should worship Vanthiyathevan because all of us were floored by Nandhini’s beauty, but he is the only one who didn’t fall for her. He neither threw this knife towards Adhitya nor killed his master,”

“How are you so sure?” asked Anirudhar, trying to pry the elder Lord of Paluvur’s mouth.

“I am so sure because I know the man who killed Adhitya,”

“Who is that? Who killed Adhitya?” asked several voices.

“Hmm… I have to confess everything. Unless I tell you everything that has happened, your doubts won’t clear. When I entered Nandhini’s chamber through the granary, I saw Vanthiyathevan hiding there. I feared that he might shriek on seeing me and so I throttled his neck and made him unconscious. I am sure that he is not aware of the killer as he was not in his senses when Adhitya died,”

“Tell us who killed the Prince,” 

Lifting the knife, the elder Lord of Paluvur said, “I brought this knife from Idupankaari and entered the chamber. It is me who threw this knife. I threw this knife with my hand, but I didn’t throw it towards Adhitya. My aim was towards Nandhini, but my aim missed and the knife pierced Adhitya’s chest…,”

“Oh my God! No!” shouted everyone.

“I have brought disgrace to my Paluvur clan which had been loyal to the Cholas for centuries together. I don’t know the way to ward off that disgrace,” said the elder Lord of Paluvur in between his sobs.

“Brother! Let me ward off that disgrace by taking your life or the mistake you have committed,” roared Kalaanthagar as he charged towards his brother lifting his sword.

“No! No! I don’t want any blood spill in this holy place,” shouted the King.

Arulmozhivarmar and Anirudhar ran towards Kalaantahgar and stopped him at the right time from using his sword on his brother.

The elder Lord of Paluvur said with teary eyes, “My dear brother! You need not punish yourself by killing me for the mistake I have committed. Also, I don’t want you to take the blemish of killing your own brother. Let me fulfill my vow, myself,”

Saying this, the elder Lord of Paluvur raised the knife that Parthibentrhan had given him and stabbed his chest. 

Ponniyin Selvar, who had guessed the elder Lord of Paluvur’s intentions the first time, failed to guess the second time. By the time Ponniyin Selvar and Aniruthar neared the elder Lord of Paluvur, it was too late as the knife had pierced his chest deeply.

Some ran towards the elder Lord of Paluvur who fell down on the ground with a thud while a few others ran towards the King who fainted on his chair, clasping his heart. The meeting ended.

That night, Sundara Cholar, Kundavai, Anirudhar and Arulmozhivarmar visited the elder Lord of Paluvur who was on his deathbed. They appreciated him for all the good deeds he had done for the Chola Kingdom from the beginning. Everyone was careful not to utter anything about the incidents that took place in the past three years. They just praised him for his valour and left.

Then, all the four hid themselves in the chamber so that the elder Lord of Paluvur couldn’t see them and waited patiently. 

Kalaanthagar entered the chamber along with Nambi. He made Nambi sit beside his brother and he too sat on the cot.

The elder Lord of Paluvur saw Nambi and said, “Ah! What is this Vaishnavite doing here? Did you carry any message from your Lord Vishnu? I don’t want to go to Vaikundam (the abode of Lord Vishnu), instead, I want to go to Kailash (the abode of Lord Shiva),”

“Sir! I didn’t get any message from Lord Vishnu, but from my sister,” said Nambi.

“Who is your sister?” asked the elder Lord of Paluvur.

“Nandhini is my foster sister. She asked me to convey her gratitude to you for taking up the blame of killing Prince Adhitya so as to free her from the blame. She also told me that she won’t forget your affection for her in any of her births,”

“Ah! Does she still think like that? Let it be. Even though she deceived me, I cannot forget her because she is the daughter of the Goddess who sacrificed her life to save the King,” said the elder Lord of Paluvur.

Nambi remained silent. The elder Lord of Paluvur smiled sadly and said, “Nambi! I desperately want to tell the truth to someone and I think I can tell you the truth. The knife I had thrown didn’t pierce Aditya as he fell down even before my knife could reach him. The reason for taking the blame on myself is not only for Nandhini but for your friend Vanthiyathevan too. The Chola kingdom should be grateful to Vanthiyathevan as he had done a great help to the kingdom. By listening to Nandhini, I made many mistakes. I hated Princess Kundavai and wanted to see her suffer. I think I deserve this for all the misdeeds I have done. Apart from that, if I didn’t take up the blame for killing Adhitya and kill myself, someone or the other would keep on blaming Vanthiyathevan for killing his master. Now, as I have punished myself, everyone would believe that it was me who killed Adhitya and Vanthiyathevan would be completely free from accusation. Nambi! Sometimes in the future, please ask for forgiveness with Princess Kundavai for considering her as my enemy,” 

As the elder Lord of Paluvur talked for a long time, his breathing became difficult. He gasped for breath as his chest heaved up and down. Nambi’s heart melted as tears ran down his cheeks on hearing his confession. 

Kundavai, who was listening to the elder Lord of Paluvur from hiding, cupped her mouth to control her sobs from escaping.

“Nambi! There is yet another important thing. Ask Anirudhar to start the mission of bringing the Pandiya crown and chain from Lanka. You and Vanthiyathevan should lead that mission. Then crown Ponniyi Selvar as the King in Madurai too. Tell Arulmozhivarmar that there is no worthy companion than him for the Chola kingdom,” 

Saying this, the elder Lord of Paluvur looked above. “Devi Durga! I have fulfilled my vow. I am coming,”

The next moment, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath and then the brave man lay motionless on the cot. The elder Lord of Paluvur breathed his last.

Note: The next update will be on Monday.